The need to protect bicyclists, joggers, and walkers during dusk and nighttime activity is of primary concern given the number of fatalities and injuries logged amongst them during that period. Devices such as reflectors or reflective tapes have achieved a plateau in their development; no significant improvements have been achieved during the past several years as reported by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Consequently, the CPSC is leaning toward the use of lights as warning devices, particularly singling out the use of Light Emitting Diodes. However, specific standards for their implementation have not yet been established.
Flashing lights are known to attract more attention than steadily glowing lights and the color red is basically standardized as a hazard identifier. Red is a particularly good light source since, for inclement conditions, red light has greater penetrating capability than other colors. High intensity Red Light Emitting Diodes are readily available, energy efficient, economical, long lived, and have rapid response times making them ideal choices for safety lights.
A previously disclosed invention, U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,290 called a MAGNETO-INDUCTIVELY ACTUATED SAFETY LIGHT, provides the foundation for the invention disclosed herein. Briefly, the previously disclosed device teaches that light pulses are triggered by a magnetically actuated switch. Although flash intensity is independent of rotational speed, flashing frequency depends upon the rotational speed of the bicycle's wheel and the number of magnets used to actuate one or more Reed Switches. Of primary importance is the fact that current drawn from the battery when the bicycle is idle is insignificant. Consequently, no on-off switch is needed thereby making the SAFETY LIGHT active at all times, day or night. However, there was no provision for extending the warning flash period when the bicycle came to a stop.